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A vizinha cozinha peixe de vez em quando.

A vizinha cozinha peixe de vez em quando.
The neighbour cooks fish occasionally.
FromLesson 25inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of A vizinha cozinha peixe de vez em quando.

cozinhar
to cook
o peixe
the fish
de vez em quando
occasionally
a vizinha
the neighbour

Questions & Answers about A vizinha cozinha peixe de vez em quando.

Why is there a definite article A before vizinha instead of omitting it?
In European Portuguese it’s common to use definite articles before nouns even when talking about people. A vizinha literally means the neighbor. Omitting the article (just saying Vizinha cozinha…) would sound unusual unless you’re listing names or titles.
What does vizinha mean, and why is it feminine?
Vizinha is the feminine form of “neighbor”. Portuguese nouns have grammatical gender: words ending in -a are usually feminine (e.g. menina, amiga), while those ending in -o are usually masculine (e.g. vizinho, amigo).
Why is the verb cozinha used here, and what tense/person is it?
Cozinha is the third-person singular present indicative of cozinhar (to cook). It matches the singular subject a vizinha (“the neighbor (female) cooks…”).
Why doesn’t peixe have an article in front of it?
When you talk about things in a general or indefinite sense, Portuguese often drops the article. Cozinha peixe means she cooks fish as a type of food, not a specific fish. If you said cozinha o peixe, it would imply she cooks a particular fish previously mentioned.
What does de vez em quando mean, and can it be replaced?
De vez em quando is an idiomatic phrase meaning from time to time or occasionally. You can also use às vezes or por vezes, but de vez em quando is very common in everyday speech.
How do you pronounce the nh in vizinha and cozinha?
The digraph nh represents the palatal nasal [ɲ], similar to the Spanish ñ. So vizinha is pronounced /viˈziɲɐ/ and cozinha /koˈziɲɐ/.
Can I drop a vizinha and just say cozinha peixe de vez em quando?
Portuguese lets you drop subject pronouns (like ela), but dropping the noun a vizinha without context can sound odd. If you’ve already mentioned your neighbor, you could say Ela cozinha peixe de vez em quando. But without context, cozinha peixe… feels incomplete.
Is it possible to change the word order to emphasize the frequency?
Yes. You can start with the adverbial phrase for emphasis: De vez em quando, a vizinha cozinha peixe. It’s perfectly natural and highlights the “occasionally” aspect.
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